Sarasota Orchestra Masterworks 4: Variations on America

Adolphus Hailstork’s An American Port of Call captures the relentless energy of a seaside city. Pianist Clayton Stephenson performs Gershwin’s jazz-infused Concerto in F. Charles Ives composed his delightfully quirky Variations on “America” when he was only 17. Audiences at the 1934 premiere of Dawson’s Negro Folk Symphony erupted in applause after each movement. Decades later, the extraordinary work has returned to the standard repertoire with accolades.